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New Releases October 19–October 25 and Readers Choice C*ntest

A quick housekeeping note. Thanks to Roger, who let me know that my Halloween post is up today at Paranormal Haven! I’m talking about what my characters wore to their Halloween party in River Road, and giving away a book or a swag pack. Head on over and share your holiday memories.

One more light week for new releases before the deluge, so enjoy the lull! As for me, I am intrigued with the anthology Rags and Bones. I always seem to be intrigued by anthologies, buy them, and don’t read them, so my backup choice would be Dan Simmons’ Abominable.

What do you want to read this week? As always, leave a comment telling me the book you’d most like to win, and maybe random.org will make your wishes come true. Your choice of print or digital unless otherwise stated. International? Of course! As long as Book Depository delivers to your country, please enter. If you’d prefer the first book in a series listed here, that’s okay, too.

Nightclub bartender and serial heartbreaker Beth Becker might be a cynic. But when her best friend goes missing Halloween night, Beth knows it’s up to her to find out what happened. Her quest will take her on an odyssey through the crumbling city of New Harbor, Connecticut. Along the way she meets a homeless prophet warning of something he calls the “Night Angel”, a bloodthirsty creature that feeds on the forgotten. And she will form an unlikely bond with a hunted stranger who knows all too well what stalks the streets at night.(ebook Only)

Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent, and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help, a woman with even more secrets than Blue. Evangaline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. He helps her see beyond the darkness of her own past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe, even though he’d rather die than live without her.

As a young reporter, Arthur Crane exposed the secrets behind the Orchid Killer, a cult murderer from the late ’60s whose crimes blackened the end of the Summer of Love. Half a century later, Arthur wakes to find an orchid resting on his pillow, a symbol of death from a killer connected to his estranged younger brother, Christian. To discover the horrifying truth, Arthur will risk all–even his very soul–for Christian may not be the brother that Arthur remembers. Included with this story is a sneak peek at Innocent Blood, the second book in the Order of the Sanguines Series.(ebook Only)

Beri O’Dell is on a mission. She has to rip back into a hell dimension fast, but needs two things first, the blood of an ancient and a fix for her friend Blythe’s magic. Finding ancient blood isn’t easy when the old ones are rare and unwilling to donate. She needs to find Blythe’s former mentor, except the woman has lost her mind and joined a traveling band of singing witches. Nikolos is imprisoned, and after a screwed-up spell lets her witness the horror that has become his life, her fear for him grows by the day. A powerful being unleashed during the battle with the Dweller likes her gluttonous new existence, and will kill anyone who threatens it. Beri has a few tricks up her sleeve, even if it means mining the darkness of her soul to set everything right, and get Nikolos back in her arms. (ebook Only)

Twenty-five-year-old Tristan Doran enjoys a life of incredible power and privilege. As a direct descendant of the Keepers, witches who have embraced dark magic, he defers to no one but his overlord, Lord Bosque Mar. For most of his life, Tristan has been kept out of the centuries-old Witches War, his bloodline too valuable to risk in battle. But when a beautiful, young human Searcher named Sarah is captured and made a prisoner in his Irish castle, Tristan’s infatuation with her flings him headlong into the fray. Captive and captor, unable to contain their longing, embark on a passionate, forbidden romance together, only to learn that their love is at the heart of a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Keepers’ ages-old reign.

Kody woke up in a hospital bed, not knowing how he got there. Before his questions could be answered, he was told that he was about to undergo surgery, and that there could be some side effects. And then he woke up again, this time in Xanth. Kody is the only person in Xanth who has not been affected by a dreadful spell that reverses how people see each other. What was adorable is now loathsome. What was ugly is now beautiful. What was loved is now hated. Kody has clearly arrived just in time! Only he has any hope of reversing the spell, turning Esrever Doom into Reverse Mood.

Caught in an unexpected spring squall, Corrine’s first instinct is to protect her little sister Sophie after a nasty fall. But when Corrine reaches out to comfort her sister, the exact opposite occurs. Her touch, charged with an otherworldly force and bursting with blinding indigo color, surges violently from Corrine to her sister. Sophie is dead. Corrine convinces herself that she should simply withdraw from life. When her family moves to New Orleans, Corrine’s withdrawal is made all the easier. She realizes that her power cannot be ignored, especially when Rennick, a talented local artist, suggests another possibility: Corrine might have the touch. An ability to heal those around her. Knowing what happened to her sister, can Corrine trust her gift?

Literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors re-imagine their favorite classic stories, ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them; ones that have become ingrained in modern culture; and ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and then reassemble them for a new generation of readers. Today’s most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild these twelve timeless stories. Authors include: Neal Gaiman, Carrie Ryan, Gene Wolfe, Kelley Armstrong, Rick Yancey, Kami Garcia, Charles Vess, Holly Black, Garth Nix, Margaret Stohl and Saladin Ahmed.

It’s 1926, and the desire to summit the world’s highest mountain has reached a fever-pitch among adventurers. Three young friends, eager to take their shot at the top, accept funding from a grieving mother whose son fell to his death on Mt. Everest two years earlier. But she refuses to believe he’s dead, and wants them to bring him back alive. As they set off toward Everest, the men encounter other hikers who are seeking the boy’s body for their own mysterious reasons. What valuable item could he have been carrying? What is the truth behind the many disapperances on the mountain? As they journey to the top of the world, the three friends face abominable choices, actions, and possibly creatures.

When a mysterious parcel arrives at her family’s home, eleven-year-old Lin Rosenquist has a curious feeling she’s meant to discover what’s inside. Much to Lin’s surprise, the ornate key contained in the parcel unlocks a spellbinding world called Sylver, hidden behind the cellar door. Sylver is an enchanting land of eternal winter, inhabited by animals that shared a special connection with children in the real world, either as beloved pets or tamed wild animals. In death, they are delivered to Sylver, where they take on a curiously human-like form and still watch over the children they cherish. Lin soon learns that the magic of the Petlings and Wilders is failing, and snow trolls want to claim Sylver for themselves. Lin must discover a way to stop them and save this enchanted world.

You know your life has hit rock bottom when you’re living off cooked rats and showering once every few months. But for Jackson Hart things are about to get a whole lot worse. Her best friend, Tye, disappears hunting for food. She meets ex-mechanic Luke Granger, who takes her to his bunker, feeds her with non-rat based food, and offers her protection against the zombie hordes. The flesh eaters are getting smarter and when the bunker is compromised, Jackson and Luke have no choice but to make the journey south. Luke and Jackson team up to find other humans in a road-trip romance for the ages. Travelling for thousands of miles with zombies shadowing their every move they must utilize every resource at their disposal, and then some.

The small print: This contest is international to any place Book Depository ships. Contests end at midnight CDT U.S. on Saturday, and winners will be announced on Sunday’s blog. It’s the responsibility of the winner to contact me with their mailing info.

Interesting, not a long list this week but some really nice heavy hitters. I’d like to win one of the heaviest of all Esrever Doom by Piers Anthony. Thanks for the tip to check out Paranormal Haven too. carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx